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Matthew Cerrone

News: Shawn Green is now Retired
By Matthew Cerrone - Feb 28, 2008 8:17 am

In the New York Post, Bart Hubbach explains why Shawn Green has officially announced his retirement, despite hitting .291 last season, reports the .

According to the report, if Green was to return in 2008, he was only willing to accept a deal from a team on the West Coast.

so, for those who will gripe that green should have been retained as this team’s back-up first baseman, new york is not on the west coast…that said, good luck, shawn…you were much, much better for the Mets than i ever thought you would be

30 Responses to “News: Shawn Green is now Retired”

  1. cbusmetsfan says:

    “so, for those who will gripe that green should have been retained as this team’s back-up first baseman, new york is not on the west coast…” Thanks Randy McNally!

  2. chaseh says:

    That might be because the Mets weren’t willing to sign him.

  3. VCarver says:

    That’s OK that he’s retired. He filled in ably last year.

    They need to start looking at short term solutions for first base anyway. I have this sinking feeling Delgado’s funk last year was really part of his declining skills due to age. He will not be any better this year.

    Michael Abreu could be a stopgap solution. Does anyone know why he didn’t play last year? What type of injury did he have? How is his defense at first?

    • stickguy says:

      I thought he was out with Visa problems last year.

      This guy is kind of old, but it does seem like he has low mileage for his age, since he rarely plays!

      But, if he plas solid D, and keeps hitting the ball like he has been (and I think he has a minor league track record to support it), then it just might be the answer. Maybe not long term, but in an emergency? sure.

      One thing the Mets do not have on the 25 man this year (what we expect it to be) is a real back up 1B. Last year yo could plug Green in if Delgado hit the DL. This year, they will have to bring someone up, and that means Abreu or Carp most likely. And Abreu is way more ready.

      What the heck, even if he is 32, that is how old Delgado was when he was a big FA signee, so if the guy comes up and plays well, pencil him in for the next few years!

      • VCarver says:

        The baseball cube lists him as 29 this year. So, is that in “El Duque” years?

        He’s from Cuba. Why would he have Visa problems? Wouldn’t he have stayed in the states after the 2006 season?

        He could be a backup this year as well as a stopgap for 2009. I don’t see why not if he can hit enough and his defense is OK.

        The Mets will have plenty of costs to cover next winter due to OP and Pedro being free agents. I’d rather they spend it on the pitching than going after someone like Teixeira.

        • jamie says:

          I’d rather they spend it on the pitching than going after someone like Teixeira

          totally agree. sluggers are relatively easy to grow, and we should have enough offense to cover any temporary subpar production there.

    • Mister Koo says:

      I tend to agree about your Delgado thought. It didn’t help that in his only at bat so far he struck out on 3 pitches against Michigan pitching.

  4. The Ghost of Shea Past says:

    His poor defense was one of the main causes of the 2006 NLCS loss. Shawn “Triples” Green will not be missed here.

    • NBH says:

      He also batted .300+ in the 2006 playoffs…which was tops (or almost tops) for the Mets. And he hit .350 last September.

  5. cyclone says:

    That’s a nice watch….

  6. metballnut says:

    Too bad this pos didn’t retire last year. He was the reson that Milledge didn’t start in RF last year and the reason why the Mets needed to trade Milledge.
    S**t green was a waste of money.

  7. fyffem says:

    no more circus face catches…

  8. bonatom says:

    Kind of stinks for Green (and Piazza) to not be able to go out on your own terms

    • jamie says:

      I think green did: he didn’t want to play if he couldn’t play near home, so he didn’t. I’m sure someone would’ve taken a flier on him if he’d wanted to give it another go.

  9. Benny Blanco from da Bronx says:

    He’ll be back.
    Guys like him always come back. Either mid season or next season someone’s going to bring him back. He’s not completely useless.

  10. The Dotel Motel says:

    I for one actually think that Delgado will have a pretty good season BUT if he doesn’t, have you noticed that with the exception of Delgado’s ‘06 season that the first base position for the Metsies has been for the most part a particularly weak position since John Olerud left in 1999. And by the way, not to go off on a tangent since it was almost ten years ago, but I for one to this day think that the Mets not resigning Olerud – yes, despite the fact that he wanted to go back home to Seattle – was one of the biggest mistakes the organization ever made. Piazza NEVER had a hitter hitting in front of him like Olerud, as he did from ‘98-99. I firmly believe that if Olerud had stayed that Mike’s numbers would be potentially greater as a Met than they were.

    • metties1 says:

      Dude we had Eric Valent manning first base for a while. That guy hit for the cycle yo! (As did Olerud which I didn’t remember)

  11. metties1 says:

    You’d think he would have been open to playing here again after having a decent year last year and the potential of this year’s team. Maybe he felt his hat had less of a chance of blowing off on the west coast?? I’m sure the mets had minimal interest at best

  12. MetsFan1976 says:

    Shawn Green will be missed. I do think that the Mets did not have room for him–even with the lack of a true backup first baseman–but he seemed like a good guy and was quite a player for a few years. And, hell, he did pretty well last year–and was one of the few Mets who actually showed up in September. And, of course, he is no worse than the second best Jewish position player ever–he did us proud!

  13. Don says:

    i still maintain that if randolph had used the .291 hitting Green at 1b more often instead of delgado, it would have made the one game difference needed to have a postseason.

  14. mr_met says:

    i liked shawn green